Deuteronomy 4

1 “Now, you Israeli people, obey all the rules and regulations [DOU] that I will teach you. If you do that, you will remain alive and you will enter and occupy/capture the land that Yahweh, the God whom your ancestors [worshiped], is giving to you.

And now, O Israel, hearken unto the statutes and unto the ordinances, which I teach you, to do them; that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which the LORD, the God of your fathers, giveth you.

2 Do not add anything to what I command you, and do not take anything away from what I tell you. Obey all the commands of Yahweh our God that I am giving to you.

Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.

3 “You have seen what Yahweh did at Baal-Peor [Mountain]. He got rid of all the people who worshiped [the god] Baal there,

Your eyes have seen what the LORD did in Baal-peor; for all the men that followed the Baal of Peor, the LORD thy God hath destroyed them from the midst of thee.

4 but you who faithfully [continued to worship] Yahweh our God are still alive today.

But ye that did cleave unto the LORD your God are alive every one of you this day.

5 “Note that I have taught you all the rules and regulations, just like Yahweh our God told me to do. He wants you to obey them [when you are living] in the land that you are about to enter and occupy.

Behold, I have taught you statutes and ordinances, even as the LORD my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the midst of the land whither ye go in to possess it.

6 Obey them faithfully because, [if you do that], you will show the people of other nations that you are very wise. When they hear about all these laws, they will say, ‘The people of this great nation [of Israel] are certainly very wise [DOU]!’

Observe therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, that, when they hear all these statutes, shall say: 'Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.'

7 Even if other nations are great, there is none [RHQ] of them that has a god who is as near to them as Yahweh our God is to us! Whenever we call out to him [to help us, he answers/helps us]

For what great nation is there, that hath God so nigh unto them, as the LORD our God is whensoever we call upon Him?

8 And there is no [RHQ] other nation, even if it is a great nation, that has laws that are as just/fair as the laws that I am telling to you today.

And what great nation is there, that hath statutes and ordinances so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?

9 “But be very careful! [DOU, IDM] Do not forget what you [SYN] have seen [God do]. Remember those things as long as you are alive. Tell them to your children and your grandchildren.

Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes saw, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life; but make them known unto thy children and thy children's children;

10 Tell them about the day that your ancestors stood in the presence of Yahweh our God at Sinai [Mountain], when he said to me, ‘Gather the people together, in order that they can hear what I say. I want them to learn to have an awesome respect for me as long as they are alive, and I want them to teach their children to do that also.’

the day that thou stoodest before the LORD thy God in Horeb, when the LORD said unto me: 'Assemble Me the people, and I will make them hear My words that they may learn to fear Me all the days that they live upon the earth, and that they may teach their children.'

11 [Tell them that] your ancestors came near the bottom of the mountain, while the mountain burned with a fire that went up to the sky, and the mountain was covered with dark clouds and black [smoke].

And ye came near and stood under the mountain; and the mountain burned with fire unto the heart of heaven, with darkness, cloud, and thick darkness.

12 Then Yahweh spoke to your ancestors out of the middle of the fire. Your ancestors heard him speak, but they did not see him. They only heard his voice.

And the LORD spoke unto you out of the midst of the fire; ye heard the voice of words, but ye saw no form; only a voice.

13 And he declared to them his agreement. That agreement contained the Ten Commandments that he wants you to obey. He wrote those on two stone tablets.

And He declared unto you His covenant, which He commanded you to perform, even the ten words; and He wrote them upon two tables of stone.

14 Yahweh commanded me to teach all the rules and regulations to you, in order that you would obey them in the land that you are about to enter and occupy.”

And the LORD commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and ordinances, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go over to possess it.

15 “On the day that Yahweh spoke to your ancestors at Sinai [Mountain], he was invisible. So, be careful

Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves — for ye saw no manner of form on the day that the LORD spoke unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire —

16 that you do not sin by making for yourselves any idol [of something that can be seen!] not make an idol that resembles any person, either a man or a woman,

lest ye deal corruptly, and make you a graven image, even the form of any figure, the likeness of male or female,

17 or that resembles any animal or any bird

the likeness of any beast that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged fowl that flieth in the heaven,

18 or any (reptile/creature that scurries across the ground) or any fish in the deep ocean.

the likeness of any thing that creepeth on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the water under the earth;

19 And be careful to not look up toward the sky and be tempted to worship anything that you see there—the sun or the moon or the stars. Yahweh our God has given those to [be a blessing to] all people everywhere, [but you must not worship them].

and lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun and the moon and the stars, even all the host of heaven, thou be drawn away and worship them, and serve them, which the LORD thy God hath allotted unto all the peoples under the whole heaven.

20 Yahweh has brought your ancestors out of Egypt, where [they were suffering as though] they were in a blazing furnace, in order that they would be people who belong to him, which is what you are today.

But you hath the LORD taken and brought forth out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be unto Him a people of inheritance, as ye are this day.

21 “But Yahweh was angry with me because of [what] your ancestors [made me do]. He vowed that I would not cross the Jordan [River] to enter the good/fertile land that he is giving to you.

Now the LORD was angered with me for your sakes, and swore that I should not go over the Jordan, and that I should not go in unto that good land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance;

22 He said that I must die here in this land and never cross the Jordan [River]. But you will go across it, and you will occupy that land.

but I must die in this land, I must not go over the Jordan; but ye are to go over, and possess that good land.

23 Be sure that you do not forget the agreement that Yahweh our God made with you. He commanded you to not make any kind of idol, because he has forbidden that.

Take heed unto yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of the LORD your God, which He made with you, and make you a graven image, even the likeness of any thing which the LORD thy God hath forbidden thee.

24 [You must not do that] because Yahweh your God will destroy [anyone who worships idols, ] like [MET] a fire completely destroys things. He [wants people to worship only him, he] (cannot accept/will punish) people who worship anyone or anything else.

For the LORD thy God is a devouring fire, a jealous God.

25 “When you have been in the land [of Canaan] for a long time and you have children and grandchildren, do not sin by making an idol that represents anything at all, because Yahweh says that is evil, and if you do that, you will cause him to become angry with you [and punish you].

When thou shalt beget children, and children's children, and ye shall have been long in the land, and shall deal corruptly, and make a graven image, even the form of any thing, and shall do that which is evil in the sight of the LORD thy God, to provoke Him;

26 Today I am requesting everyone who is in heaven and everyone who is on the earth [MTY] to watch what you are doing. [If you disobey what I am telling you], you will soon all die in the land that you will be crossing the Jordan [River] to occupy. You will not live very long there; Yahweh will completely get rid of many [HYP] of you.

I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that ye shall soon utterly perish from off the land whereunto ye go over the Jordan to possess it; ye shall not prolong your days upon it, but shall utterly be destroyed.

27 And [the rest of you], Yahweh will force you to go and live among the people of many other nations. Only a few of you will (survive/remain alive) there.

And the LORD shall scatter you among the peoples, and ye shall be left few in number among the nations, whither the LORD shall lead you away.

28 When you are in those nations, you will worship gods that are made of wood and stone, gods made by humans, gods that cannot see anything or hear anything or eat anything or smell anything.

And there ye shall serve gods, the work of men's hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell.

29 But while you are there, if you will try to know Yahweh your God, and if you try with your entire inner being to know him, he will (answer/reveal himself to) you.

But from thence ye will seek the LORD thy God; and thou shalt find Him, if thou search after Him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.

30 In the future, after you have been mistreated there and all those bad things happen to you, you will again worship only Yahweh and obey him.

In thy distress, when all these things are come upon thee, in the end of days, thou wilt return to the LORD thy God, and hearken unto His voice;

31 Yahweh is a God who acts mercifully. [If you continue to obey him], he will not abandon you or destroy you or forget the agreement that he solemnly made with your ancestors.”

for the LORD thy God is a merciful God; He will not fail thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which He swore unto them.

32 “Now think about the past, about the time before you were born, about all the time since God first created people here on the earth. You could search everywhere, in heaven and on the earth. (Has anything like this ever happened that is as great as [what Yahweh did for the Israeli people]?/Certainly nothing has ever happened that is as great [as what Yahweh did for the Israeli people].) [RHQ] (Has anyone ever heard of anything like this?/Certainly no one has ever heard of anything like this.) [RHQ]

For ask now of the days past, which were before thee, since the day that God created man upon the earth, and from the one end of heaven unto the other, whether there hath been any such thing as this great thing is, or hath been heard like it?

33 (Has any group ever remained alive after they heard a god speak to them from the middle of a fire, like we did?/Certainly no group has ever remained alive after they heard a god speak to them from the middle of a fire, like we did.) [RHQ]

Did ever a people hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as thou hast heard, and live?

34 Certainly no other god has ever tried to take a [huge] group of people from one nation [to another location], like he did for us when he brought us out of Egypt. We saw Yahweh our God use great power [MTY, DOU] when he performed many kinds of [DOU] miracles, and sent plagues, and did many other very terrifying things in Egypt for us, [and rescued us when the army of Egypt tried to fight against us].

Or hath God assayed to go and take Him a nation from the midst of another nation, by trials, by signs, and by wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand, and by an outstretched arm, and by great terrors, according to all that the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before thine eyes?

35 “Yahweh showed all these things to you, in order that you would know that only he is truly God, and that there is no other God.

Unto thee it was shown, that thou mightiest know that the LORD, He is God; there is none else beside Him.

36 He allowed your ancestors to hear him speak from heaven in order that he could discipline them. Here on the earth he allowed them to see his great fire [on Sinai Mountain], and he spoke to them from the middle of the fire.

Out of heaven He made thee to hear His voice, that He might instruct thee; and upon earth He made thee to see His great fire; and thou didst hear His words out of the midst of the fire.

37 Because he loved our ancestors, he chose you Israelis who are their descendants, and by his great power he brought your ancestors out of Egypt.

And because He loved thy fathers, and chose their seed after them, and brought thee out with His presence, with His great power, out of Egypt,

38 [As they advanced], he expelled the people of nations that were greater and more powerful than they were, in order that he could allow them to capture their land and cause it to become yours, which is [what is happening] now.

to drive out nations from before thee greater and mightier than thou, to bring thee in, to give thee their land for an inheritance, as it is this day;

39 “So today you should (meditate on/think about) the fact that Yahweh is God, that he is/rules in heaven and also on the earth, and that there is no other god.

know this day, and lay it to thy heart, that the LORD, He is God in heaven above and upon the earth beneath; there is none else.

40 Obey all the rules and regulations that I am giving to you today, in order that things will go well for you and for your descendants, and that you will live a long time in the land that Yahweh our God is giving to you, [to belong to you] forever.”

And thou shalt keep His statutes, and His commandments, which I command thee this day, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days upon the land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee, for ever.

41 Then Moses/I set apart three cities that are on the east side of the Jordan [River].

Then Moses separated three cities beyond the Jordan toward the sunrising;

42 If someone accidentally killed another person, a person who had not been his enemy previously, he could escape to one of those cities. He would be safe/protected in one of those cities [because the people there would protect him].

that the manslayer might flee thither, that slayeth his neighbour unawares, and hated him not in time past; and that fleeing unto one of these cities he might live:

43 For the tribe of Reuben, Moses/I set apart Bezer [city] in the (plateau/high level) area. For the tribe of Gad, Moses/I set apart Ramoth [city] in the Gilead [area]. For the tribe of Manasseh, Moses/I set apart Golan [city] in the Bashan [region].

Bezer in the wilderness, in the table-land, for the Reubenites; and Ramoth in Gilead, for the Gadites; and Golan in Bashan, for the Manassites.

44 Moses/I gave [God’s] laws to the Israeli people.

And this is the law which Moses set before the children of Israel;

45 They included all the rules and instructions and commands that Moses/I gave to them, after they/we had come out of Egypt,

these are the testimonies, and the statutes, and the ordinances, which Moses spoke unto the children of Israel, when they came forth out of Egypt;

46 when they/we were in the valley east of the Jordan [River]. They/We were across from Beth-Peor [town], in the land that [previously] was ruled by Sihon, the king of the Amor people-group, who lived in Heshbon [city]. Moses/I and the other Israelis had defeated his [army] when they/we came out of Egypt.

beyond the Jordan, in the valley over against Beth-peor, in the land of Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon, whom Moses and the children of Israel smote, when they came forth out of Egypt;

47 They/We captured Sihon’s land and the land that Og, the king of the Bashan [region], ruled. They were the two kings who ruled the Amor people-group [in the area] east of the Jordan [River].

and they took his land in possession, and the land of Og king of Bashan, the two kings of the Amorites, who were beyond the Jordan toward the sunrising;

48 Their land extended from Aroer [town in the south] along the Arnon [River], as far [north] as Sirion Mountain, which [most people] call Hermon Mountain.

from Aroer, which is on the edge of the valley of Arnon, even unto mount Sion — the same is Hermon —

49 It also included all the area east of the Jordan [River] Valley, all the way south to the Dead Sea and east to the slopes of Pisgah [Mountain].

and all the Arabah beyond the Jordan eastward, even unto the sea of the Arabah, under the slopes of Pisgah.